The Hindu : Cornea shortage keeps patients waiting

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 11, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Cornea shortage keeps patients waiting

By Ramya Kannan

CHENNAI, JAN. 10. There is a shortage of eyes for transplantation in Chennai. Persons with corneal blindness have often to wait for months, even years, for a transplant.

According to the Chennai Corporation, an average of 100 deaths occur in the city everyday. The Eye Banks Association of India estimates that 40-45 per cent of all cadaveric eyes harvested can be used for transplantation. However, city-based banks are unable to harvest eyes from even one-tenth of the cadavers. ``At any time, there are at least 100 persons waiting for eye transplantation in Chennai alone,'' according to the Mohan Rajan of Rajan Eye Bank. The bank receives a pair of eyes every alternate day. ``It is a myth that the State is in a comfortable position in eye donation. The truth is that there is a shortage of corneas,'' he says.

The Government Ophthalmic Hospital received an eye a day in 2003. However, the requirements, according to chief camp surgeon K.Asokan, are 500 - 600 a month.

In the Sankara Nethralaya, at any point of time, about 1,200 patients are waiting for corneal transplant surgeries. In the Agarwal Eye Hospital, there are at least 10-12 patients waiting for eyes. The wide gap between demand and supply indicates that greater awareness of eye donation is essential.

``A lot of myths about eye donation exist in the public realm. People think the whole eye will be transplanted, that removal of eyes will mutilate the face. Some people believe that if you donate eyes, you will become blind in the next birth,'' says Amar Agarwal of the Agarwal Eye Institute. Only the cornea or parts of it will be used for transplantation and no mutilation occurs on removal, explain ophthalmic surgeons.

Eye Bank staff point out that all eyes pledged by donors are not being harvested. ``Donors pledge their eyes, but forget to tell their kith and kin. We lose a large number of eyes as the decision of the donor can be fulfilled only by the next of kin,'' says A.P. Irungovil of the Sankara Nethralaya Eye Bank. If the kin are not informed or sensitised to the issue, the communication will not reach the eye bank and that pair of eyes is lost forever.

Corneal retrieval programme

``The family is distraught with grief when a death occurs. Then, it does not think of organ donation. However, time is crucial — the eyes have to be removed within six hours of death,'' says Dr.Asokan.

In an effort to tackle the problem, city ophthalmologists are actively promoting a `Hospital Corneal Retrieval Programme.' A counsellor will be appointed in every hospital to counsel the family members of the deceased on eye donation. The counsellor will also work with the family of brain-dead patients.

In addition, there are plans to start a network of eye banks and centralise the roster of patients requiring eyes. Information about eyes available for harvesting will come to a nodal point. The network will then share the information and channelise corneas to match requirements.

A toll free number (1919) has been started by the Sankara Nethralaya to provide information about eye donation. The Agarwal Institute's helpline number is 28116233.

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